Jump to content

Matt Cain: Difference between revisions

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Browse history interactively
← Previous editNext edit →
Content deleted Content added
VisualWikitext
m →‎2012: link to perfect game article
Line 88: Line 88:
In his next start, on April 18, Cain threw another 9 shutout innings using only 91 pitches, dueling [[Cliff Lee]] of the [[Philadelphia Phillies]] who threw 102 pitches over 10 scoreless innings. The first 9 innings took only 1 hour and 49 minutes. The Giants went on to win in the 11th inning.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://blog.sfgate.com/giants/2012/04/18/aftermath-of-the-cliff-lee-matt-cain-classic/|last=Kroner|first=Steve|title=Aftermath of the Cliff Lee-Matt Cain classic|work=The Splash|date=April 18, 2021}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://bleacherreport.com/articles/1152222-matt-cain-vs-cliff-lee-the-epic-battle-at-att|last=Realmonte|first=Marko|work=Bleacher Report|date=April 19, 2012|title=Matt Cain vs. Cliff Lee: the Epic Battle at AT&T}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.fangraphs.com/blogs/index.php/cliff-lee-and-matt-cain-pitch-into-history/|work=FanGraphs|first=Dave|last=Cameron|date=April 19, 2012|title=Cliff Lee and Matt Cain Pitch Into History}}</ref>
In his next start, on April 18, Cain threw another 9 shutout innings using only 91 pitches, dueling [[Cliff Lee]] of the [[Philadelphia Phillies]] who threw 102 pitches over 10 scoreless innings. The first 9 innings took only 1 hour and 49 minutes. The Giants went on to win in the 11th inning.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://blog.sfgate.com/giants/2012/04/18/aftermath-of-the-cliff-lee-matt-cain-classic/|last=Kroner|first=Steve|title=Aftermath of the Cliff Lee-Matt Cain classic|work=The Splash|date=April 18, 2021}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://bleacherreport.com/articles/1152222-matt-cain-vs-cliff-lee-the-epic-battle-at-att|last=Realmonte|first=Marko|work=Bleacher Report|date=April 19, 2012|title=Matt Cain vs. Cliff Lee: the Epic Battle at AT&T}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.fangraphs.com/blogs/index.php/cliff-lee-and-matt-cain-pitch-into-history/|work=FanGraphs|first=Dave|last=Cameron|date=April 19, 2012|title=Cliff Lee and Matt Cain Pitch Into History}}</ref>


On [[Matt Cain's perfect game|June 13, 2012]], Cain threw the 22nd [[perfect game]] in MLB history against the [[Houston Astros]], while striking out 14, tying [[Sandy Koufax]] for the most ever in a perfect game. His 125 pitches were the most ever in a perfect game. Cain's [[sabermetrics]] [[game score]] at 101 was the second highest ever in a 9-inning game. It was the first perfect game for the Giants franchise and the ninth in national league history. It was also the fifth no-hitter thrown by MLB pitchers in 2012 and the second perfect game. The Giants beat the Astros 10–0, the highest scoring perfect game ever.<ref>{{cite web|title=Matt Cain throws perfect game, strikes out 14 as Giants drub Astros|url=http://scores.espn.go.com/mlb/recap?gameId=320613126|date=June 13, 2012|accessdate=2012-06-14|publisher=ESPN}}</ref>
On [[Matt Cain's perfect game|June 13, 2012]], Cain threw the 22nd [[perfect game]] in [[MLB]] history against the [[Houston Astros]], striking out 14 (thereby tying [[Sandy Koufax]] for the most strikeouts ever in a perfect game). His 125 pitches were the most ever in a perfect game. Cain's [[sabermetric]] [[Game Score]] of 101 was the second-highest ever in a 9-inning game. It was the first perfect game for the Giants franchise (New York and San Francisco combined), and the ninth in [[National League]] history. It was also the fifth no-hitter thrown by MLB pitchers in 2012, and the second perfect game of that season. The Giants beat the Astros 10–0, making Cain's the highest-scoring perfect game ever.<ref>{{cite web|title=Matt Cain throws perfect game, strikes out 14 as Giants drub Astros|url=http://scores.espn.go.com/mlb/recap?gameId=320613126|date=June 13, 2012|accessdate=2012-06-14|publisher=ESPN}}</ref>


==Personal life==
==Personal life==

Revision as of 09:14, 14 June 2012

Matt Cain
Cain before his Major League debut with the Giants in August 2005
San Francisco Giants – No. 18
Starting pitcher
Born: (1984-10-01) October 1, 1984 (age 40)
Dothan, Alabama
Bats: Right
Throws: Right
debut
August 29, 2005, for the San Francisco Giants
Career statistics
(through June 2, 2012)
Win–loss record75–75
Earned run average3.31
Strikeouts1,158
Teams
Career highlights and awards

Matthew Thomas Cain (born October 1, 1984) is an American professional baseball player. A starting pitcher, Cain plays for the San Francisco Giants of Major League Baseball. He is 6 feet 3 inches (1.91 m) tall and weighs 235 pounds (107 kg). He is currently the highest-paid right-handed pitcher in the league. On June 13, 2012, at home against the Houston Astros, Cain threw the 22nd perfect game in professional baseball history (first in Giants franchise history) and 20th since the modern era began in 1900, striking out 14 in a 10–0 victory.

Early career

Cain graduated from Houston High School in Germantown, Tennessee, where he earned the nickname "Big Sugar" and was selected by the Giants in the first round (25th overall) in the 2002 MLB Draft.[1]

Prior to the 2005 season, Cain was named the #13 prospect in baseball by Baseball America.[2]

Pitching style

Cain features a mix of mostly four pitches: a four-seam fastball (89-92 mph), a slider (85-88), a curveball (78-81), and a changeup (85-88). Very infrequently, he also throws a two-seam fastball at 90-92 mph. Cain leads with his four-seamer, throwing it just over half the time in 2011. His changeup is his secondary pitch to left-handed hitters, while he throws sliders as a secondary pitch to right-handed hitters. Cain throws curveballs in roughly equal proportions to righties and lefties.[3]

Major League career

2005

Cain made his major league debut on August 29, 2005, at the age of 20 against the Colorado Rockies, losing the game despite giving up only three hits and two runs in five innings. Following his debut, Cain joined the team's regular five-man starting rotation, finding immediate success. He earned his first major league win on September 4 against the Arizona Diamondbacks, and notched his first complete game, a two-hitter, against the Chicago Cubs on September 9. Cain finished his first season with seven starts over 46+1⁄3 innings in which he posted a 2–1 record, 30 strikeouts, a 2.33 ERA, a 0.928 WHIP, and a minuscule .151 opponent batting average.[4][5]

When he was called up, Cain was the second youngest pitcher in the major leagues, behind Félix Hernández of the Seattle Mariners.

2006

Cain's 2005 performance was impressive enough that manager Felipe Alou named him to the team's 2006 starting rotation before spring training began. Cain began the season as the team's fourth starter.

In 2006, Cain struggled with consistency, but showed signs of dominance in several starts, flirting with a no-hitter on more than one occasion. On April 24, 2006, Cain pitched six innings without allowing a base runner against the New York Mets, one of the league's most prolific offenses. On May 21, Cain pitched his first complete game shutout, a one-hitter against the Oakland Athletics. On June 19, Cain pitched 7+2⁄3 innings of no-hit ball against the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim before finally surrendering a single to Chone Figgins in the eighth inning.

Late in the season Cain increased his chances for Rookie of the Year consideration with a run of remarkable pitching. From August 12 to September 14 Cain recorded a 5–0 record with an almost unheard-of ERA of 0.21. During this streak, he allowed just one earned run in 42 innings—and did not allow an earned run in 30+2⁄3 innings. He led all National League rookie pitchers with 13 wins and 179 strikeouts in 2006. His 2006 record was 13–12, with a 4.15 ERA. Cain finished in a fifth-place tie in the NL Rookie of the Year voting.

2007

In 2007, Cain changed his uniform number from 43 to 18, following the departure of Moisés Alou, who wore 18 in 2006.

He started the 2007 season with a 1.55 ERA with 11 hits in 29 innings pitched. This run was capped on April 22, in which he pitched a complete game allowing only one run (in the ninth) and just three hits. It was the third complete game of his young career. Cain's record through August 3 was 3–12. He had limited opponents to a batting average of .238 against him during that stretch. The Giants scored two or fewer runs in 20 of Cain's first 30 starts.[6] Additionally, the bullpen blew four leads behind him.[7]

Cain went 4–1 over his next five starts.[8] This stretch was bolstered in part by a power surge at the plate by Cain himself. He hit his first and second career home runs in these starts, off Tim Redding of the Washington Nationals and Chicago Cubs ace Carlos Zambrano.[9]

Cain finished the season with the 10th-lowest ERA in the National League at 3.65. The Giants went 9–23 in his starts; the bullpen lost leads in five of his starts and the team scored 2 runs or fewer in 21 of his starts.[10]

2008

Cain went 8–14 with a 3.76 ERA, 186 strikeouts and 217.2 innings. Cain's season record was deceiving, as he again received low run support. As in 2007, Cain hit two home runs for the season, the third and fourth of his career.

2009

Cain finished the 2009 season with a 14–8 record with a 2.89 ERA and 171 strikeouts. His ERA ranked seventh in the NL, and tenth in major league baseball. He finished the season with a career-high in wins (14), and winning percentage (.663).

On July 5, 2009, Cain was announced as an All Star for the first time in his young career. On Cain's final start before the All-Star Game, he was hit by a line drive right below his elbow and was forced to miss pitching for the All Star Team, although he did still attend and was announced as an All-Star. Pirates pitcher Zach Duke replaced Cain on the NL All Star team.[11]

On September 25 Cain was awarded the Willie Mac Award, presented yearly to a Giants player who best exemplifies the spirit and leadership consistently shown by Willie McCovey throughout his long career, which is voted upon by the players and coaching staff.[12]

2010–11

Cain was part of a rotation that included 2008 and 2009 National League Cy Young award winner Tim Lincecum, 2002 American League Cy Young award winner Barry Zito, along with Jonathan Sanchez and Madison Bumgarner. In the month of May, Cain pitched into the sixth inning or later in all 6 of his starts while giving up 9 earned runs on 23 hits with 35 strikeouts and 18 walks in 44+2⁄3 innings pitched with an overall record of 3–3 with an 1.81 earned run average.

For the season Cain was 13–11 with a 3.14 ERA, 1.08 WHIP, 177 strikeouts, 61 walks, 223 innings pitched, and 4 complete games including 2 shutouts.

On October 28 Cain capped an impressive post-season performance as he pitched 7+2⁄3 scoreless innings in Game 2 of the World Series to become the fifth pitcher to pitch at least 20 innings in the postseason without allowing an earned run.[13] His total post-season stats of a 2–0 record, with a 0.00 ERA through 211⁄3 innings pitched helped the Giants win their first championship in San Francisco.[14]

Cain was an All-Star for the second time in his career in 2011. He had a 2.39 ERA in 12 starts after the All-Star break but earned just three wins in that stretch.

On September 28, 2011, Cain hit his fifth career home run against the Colorado Rockies.

2012

On April 2, 2012, Cain agreed to a five-year contract extension worth a guaranteed $112.5 million through 2017 with an option for 2018, surpassing Kevin Brown for the largest deal for a right-handed pitcher. Cain earns a $5 million signing bonus, and will earn $20 million each season from 2013–17. His option for 2018 will vest automatically if he is not on the disabled list to an elbow or shoulder injury in 2017 and is worth $21 million. Should he be on the DL for those reasons in 2017, the Giants can either pick up the $21 million option or pay a $7.5 million buyout. Cain was scheduled to become a free agent after the 2012 season.[15] On April 13, pitching the Giants' home opener, Cain threw a complete game shut out, striking out 11. Facing 28 batters in 9 innings, one over the minimum, he allowed a single baserunner on a hit to James McDonald, the pitcher for the Pittsburgh Pirates.[16] It was the third one-hitter of Cain's career.

In his next start, on April 18, Cain threw another 9 shutout innings using only 91 pitches, dueling Cliff Lee of the Philadelphia Phillies who threw 102 pitches over 10 scoreless innings. The first 9 innings took only 1 hour and 49 minutes. The Giants went on to win in the 11th inning.[17][18][19]

On June 13, 2012, Cain threw the 22nd perfect game in MLB history against the Houston Astros, striking out 14 (thereby tying Sandy Koufax for the most strikeouts ever in a perfect game). His 125 pitches were the most ever in a perfect game. Cain's sabermetric Game Score of 101 was the second-highest ever in a 9-inning game. It was the first perfect game for the Giants franchise (New York and San Francisco combined), and the ninth in National League history. It was also the fifth no-hitter thrown by MLB pitchers in 2012, and the second perfect game of that season. The Giants beat the Astros 10–0, making Cain's the highest-scoring perfect game ever.[20]

Personal life

Cain and his wife Chelsea have a daughter, Hartley Mae, born in December 2010.[citation needed]

References

  1. ^ "Matt Cain Player File". MLB.com. Retrieved 2007-09-05.
  2. ^ "2005 Top 100 Prospects". Baseball America. Retrieved 2007-09-05.
  3. ^ "PITCHf/x Player Card: Matt Cain". BrooksBaseball.net. Retrieved 2 May 2012.
  4. ^ "Matt Cain Statistics". Baseball-Reference. Retrieved 2007-10-03.
  5. ^ "Matt Cain Stats". MLB.com. Retrieved 2007-10-03.
  6. ^ Haft, Chris (2007-09-16). "One hit too much for unlucky Cain". MLB.com. Retrieved 2007-09-16.
  7. ^ Haft, Chris (2007-08-04). "Cain snakebitten against Padres". MLB.com. Retrieved 2007-08-28.
  8. ^ "Matt Cain 2007 Pitching Gamelogs". Baseball-Reference. Retrieved 2007-08-30.
  9. ^ "Matt Cain Home Run Log (Batting)". Baseball-Reference. Retrieved 2007-08-30.
  10. ^ Shea, John (2008-04-13). "Another crusher for Cain". San Francisco Chronicle. Retrieved 2008-04-13.
  11. ^ http://mlb.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20090712&content_id=5837910&vkey=news_mlb&fext=.jsp&c_id=mlb
  12. ^ http://sanfrancisco.giants.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20090925&content_id=7159206&vkey=news_sf&fext=.jsp&c_id=sf
  13. ^ http://sanfrancisco.giants.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20101028&content_id=15893052&vkey=news_sf&c_id=sf
  14. ^ http://mlb.mlb.com/stats/individual_player_postseason.jsp?c_id=mlb&playerID=430912
  15. ^ Nicholson-Smith, Ben (April 2, 2012). "Giants To Extend Matt Cain". MLB Trade Rumors.
  16. ^ "April 13, 2012 Pittsburgh Pirates at San Francisco Giants Play by Play and Box Score". Baseball-Reference.com. April 13, 2012.
  17. ^ Kroner, Steve (April 18, 2021). "Aftermath of the Cliff Lee-Matt Cain classic". The Splash.
  18. ^ Realmonte, Marko (April 19, 2012). "Matt Cain vs. Cliff Lee: the Epic Battle at AT&T". Bleacher Report.
  19. ^ Cameron, Dave (April 19, 2012). "Cliff Lee and Matt Cain Pitch Into History". FanGraphs.
  20. ^ "Matt Cain throws perfect game, strikes out 14 as Giants drub Astros". ESPN. June 13, 2012. Retrieved 2012-06-14.
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Matt Cain.
Sporting positions
Preceded by
Edwin Jackson
2003–04
 Youngest Player in the
National League
2005 		Succeeded by
Preceded by Perfect game pitcher
June 13, 2012 		Succeeded by
Most Recent
Preceded by No-hitter pitcher
June 13, 2012 		Succeeded by
Most Recent

Template:Persondata

Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Matt_Cain&oldid=497524399"